✨Im Literary Anxious✨

𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲🕒: 3 minutes
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿:  Rhiannon Hargadon✍🏻𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 524 📖

📄𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩!📄

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲:🌶️🌶️.5
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: Standalone
𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲: HAE
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲: Single POV

“𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧: 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮.”

This might be the 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 retelling I’ve ever read.

Imagine having to fight a hundred men just to win the right to choose your own husband—only for that “choice” to turn out to be a traitorous, rapey piece of filth.

Yeah, Anne, I get it, sis. I’d be pissed too.

So what does a woman who’s already defeated a hundred men do? 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀—the Robin Hood of the ocean—hellbent on vengeance and making her throne-stealing husband (who thinks she’s dead) regret the day he underestimated her.

Anne is the morally gray embodiment of female rage wrapped up in a deadly bow. Her quest for vengeance fuels everything she does, while her ragtag crew of misfits and found family tries to remind her she’s more than her anger. Her arc wrestles with the question: Can you keep living if revenge is the only thing keeping you “alive”?

Three years after the trauma, Anne’s pain is still raw, and the author handles it beautifully—never exploitative, never brushed aside. And then there’s Robb. As if he weren’t already swoon-worthy, the way he treats Anne (even when he doesn’t understand what’s behind her triggers or outbursts) made me fall even harder.

From the second Anne spots him in the tavern you just know: oh, that’s our MMC. He’s charming, kind, and—bonus points—he stays that way even after he’s captured by Blackbeard’s crew.

And let’s talk about this enemies-to-lovers setup: your murderous husband’s best friend? Damn.

It’s the slowest of burns, but so worth it. Let’s just say… Robb ends up tied in knots over Anne. 👀

⚓ Note: Don’t skip the author’s notes at the end. She gives a quick history of Blackbeard and explains how she wove pieces of his legend into the characters and plot. It’s fascinating to see the real history reframed in such creative ways.